mikes_box

I'd like to chime in on this one because this happened to me last year. I ended up buying a larger nut from osh and mark from sunnyvale helped me put it back in and that in itself was a pain in the ***. Don't know if we tightened it too tight but in a few months the lug portion of it broke off. Found out you needed to pretty much get a new frame and that cost $$$$. I lucked out and was able to get a replacement frame with a clear plastic window for a very good deal. Just finished the repair since it had been raining for the winter and i had a hardtop protecting the car. My suggestion to you is to just take of the whole top and you'll have all the access in the world to put that darn nut with loctite on without any problem. Its really easy to remove and install the frame back on the car. 3 bolts on each side and on my particular case two phillips screws on the sides.. The frame will just lift out and the access is incredible. Don't over tighten just put some of the loctite in and hand tighten let it set for a day and reattach the red balls.. Hope this helps from someone who learned the hard way.. mike

Thinking of lowering the box but had a question about it. Did you guys/gals who lowered your cars also change the shocks/struts? I don't know if I need to do so or if just changing the springs will be sufficient... Also the ride difference after the drop was it more harsh? thanks. :renntech:

Thinking of supercharging my 97 boxster but would like to know what those who have done it think about it... I've been asking mechanics locally about it and they say i shouldn't do it... Says it will mess up the car but I wouldn't mind adding some umph to the car. Did any of you guys do the install yourselves? I know its a straight bolt on kit but don't know if I can handle the install... my car only has 45k miles on it and i'm worried that putting a supercharger in it would decrease its life span... any help is appreciated... thanks in advance...

Just wondering... I read somewhere that the power door locks can be programed to lock with the ignition and unlock when turned off.... Can anyone confirm and who can do it? thanks.

Does anyone know the part number for those triangular pieces in the headlight corners...the clear ones..thanks.

Got a question for all the guru's out there....I have a 97 with 44k miles on it and notice that once in a while usually when parked on an incline or parked over a few days without driving i get a puff of smoke from the exhaust when i start the engine... is that normal or is it a air oil separator that needs replacing? thakns.

i need help... i hear a popping and feeling a popping sound coming from my left front tire when i get out of a full stop... no noise when driving just when getting out of first of a full stop... any ideas?? my friend says some type of suspension issue but doesn't know where...any suggestions??

sounds like an electrical problem that's causing a short when the siren turns on...check the wires and make sure nothing is lose or touching metal...

try looking in this site: 986faq.com and look under removing hand brake as it tell you how to remove the whole center console.

i'd like to come and would like to know if i could have some help doing a brake flush and possibly a change in manual transmission.....if it can't be done that would be cool i can just come and watch..... i wanted to stop buy the re-cycle place in rancho cardova....

thank you loren!!! :)

hi, trying to take of my 4 spoke steering wheel but was wondering what size the center bolt is to remove it... need to know because its not in my sproket set so i have to buy it individually and there are no returns on the parts... thanks.

Then you are #4. http://986forum.com:80/forums/showthread.php?t=11615

That is not good. This is why, when I saw the male ball in Mark's hand, I asked him to check to see if the mounting lug had broken off, because that is something that could not fix at Henry's house.

Next time I'm at the dealer I'll ask the mechanics I know what kind of fixes are available, but I already think I know what they will say.

I have never removed the complete top/frame from the car, but the mechanics have. They say it is just removing a few bolts on each side, disconnect the push rods, then lift it out of the car. If you have the broken piece and if it can be welded back on, then that will be a first to me.

yeah when mark and checked it, it was okay that's why we were able to reattach the ball....don't know if using a larger bolt and possibly it being too tight could have caused the break...it's on the driver side....

At the work on cars day Mark showed me the male ball (that goes into the female plastic joint on the end of the push rod) which had come off the top frame. The threaded end of the ball goes into a hole in the frame mounting lug, and is held in place by a nut.

I asked how the male ball came off, because that usually means the mounting lug has broken off the frame. Mark told me the nut had come off and that the mounting lug had not broken off. The male ball was bolted back onto the lug (I think you bought a new nut but the old nut was found under the top).

Since then the mounting lug has broken off the frame?

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yes jeff, unfortunately the mounting lug has broken off the frame..... it was okay when mark and i checked it out at the work on cars day... but just two days ago the lug broke off... so i guess i need a new part but can't find the part number... i don't know if the part can be welded back... do you possibly know what type of material is used in this part of the car... funny thing is that the top can still go up and down with the switch...

hi guys need to have a part replaced or possible welded....the title says it all...i need some instructions on how to remove the whole convertible top frame....thanks.

hi guys found a picture of it on another forum but can't find the right part number...here's the picture of what broke off....

My convertible top broke today and i find out its the part that the red/white ball joint attaches to. It the part with the ball screw and nut attaches to. Sorry don't know what its called...if anyone has a part number for this that would be great...thanks.

Mike:

One other thing I forgot to mention. From your brief description, it sounds like only one pushrod broke. Be VERY CAREFUL after you install the new pushrod to verify that both sides did not get out of sync. If the sides are out of synch you could cause major damage (read $$$$) , including bending the clamshell. Don't operate the top by the button for more than a second at a time until you have verified this.

Regards, Maurice.

hi, unfortunately its not the push rod.... i replaced that last month because it broke... the new one was the one with the white top... the reason why the first one broke was because the metal ball that it attaches to fell off because the bolt on the back came lose... this time the piece that holds the metal ball broke off... check the white push rod and for some reason its still intact... i need to find out the part that the metal ball screwed into because that's the part that broke....help please...

My convertible top broke today and i find out its the part that the red/white ball joint attaches to. It the part with the ball screw and nut attaches to. Sorry don't know what its called...if anyone has a part number for this that would be great...thanks.

Just got my first check engine light....was wondering were i can have it read without paying big bucks at the dealer...only thing i did was swap out a ghl exhaust to stock over the weekend... any help would be nice...thanks.

Anyone out there with a ghl exhaust? I was wondering if there is anything that can be done to decrease/reduce the amount of resonance that is produced in the lower rpm range... i guess you can put a resonator on it... would changing out the tips decrease the sound or is it all from the muffler??

hi guys do any of you happen to know what the part number is to the gasket/weather stripping black rubber thing that seals the clam shell to the car....i believe its the rubber piece that lies under the clamshell when it closes or i believe you can see it when the top is up....thanks... also if you know the price that would be great too thanks.

hi guys, this will be my first work on car days i'd be attending so i wanted to know what i should bring....such as tools or food or drinks....thanks.

hey guys anyone out there want to buy the wide gauge faces for their porsche boxster.... i accidentally bought a set from ebay but the ones i bought have the maximum speed of 175 mph and my boxster only goes 150mph so i'm thinking its for a "s" or a newer boxster....i'll sell it for what i paid.... $50...mike

i didn't want the hassel of buying a cheap short shifter or the expensive one and not be happy with one but i did want to change the shift knob and have a more short knob look so what i did was remobe the shift knob and boot and i cut about 3 inches of the stick, had another shift boot sewn to a red color since my interior is red and put a nice black leather shift knob on....the oe shifter did not have threads so it kinda limits the choices....looks nice and because its oem no problem shifting or finding gears...

thanks for the part # will call and order once i figure out what i need to fix the soft top....